There will be no pact that harms interests of our farmers: Shivraj Singh Chouhan
India's rapid development has made some parts of the world uneasy.
'Our philosophy is 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' — the world is one family — and our agreements are based on equality,' said the minister during an interaction with farmers here.
He cited India's agreement with the UK, under which Indian agricultural products can be exported to the UK without any duty or tax.
However, Chouhan warned that if an agreement allowed a flood of cheap foreign produce like maize, soybeans, or wheat into India, it would ruin Indian farmers, as there is no comparison between our small farms (1–5 acres) and huge foreign farms (10,000–20,000 hectares).
'Such cheap imports would depress prices and make it impossible for Indian farmers to recover their costs,' he said, commending PM Modi for assuring that no agreement will be made that harms the interests of our farmers, livestock rearers, or fishers.
Chouhan also administered a pledge to the farmers to adopt the Swadeshi (indigenous) movement as per the call of PM Modi, stating that if we buy goods made in our own states and country, we will generate employment for millions of people in the country.
He said that "Swadeshi" means goods made within the country.
The Prime Minister has urged people with emotional conviction to use Swadeshi products. If we buy goods produced locally, made by women's Self-Help Groups, we can create employment for millions.
'If we buy earthen lamps from our potters for Diwali, not only will our homes shimmer with light, but theirs too will shine with the light of employment,' said the minister.
Chouhan further said that the Prime Minister has emphasised that the government should be visible not in files, but in the lives of people. He gave the example of his recent field visit, where farmers complained that a herbicide meant to destroy weeds had destroyed their crops instead. He ordered FIRs against such companies and called for strict action. Steps are being taken to ensure that all schemes reach farmers effectively.
For the first time, agricultural scientists have gone to villages, taking the lab to the land, working together with farmers for better productivity. They will do this again from October 3 to 18.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
25 minutes ago
- Economic Times
With US tariff war disrupting Indian job market, here's how to protect your job through smart adapting
iStock Engineering goods, textiles, and chemicals sectors are most likely be impacted by tarriffs If your news feed does not show you geopolitics or trade policies, you're not alone. International trade doesn't grab attention like cricket or Bollywood. However, when the US hiked tariffs on Indian exports, as it did again in July this year, it was not a political story anymore. It was an attack on your job security, too. Think of tariff like a 25% or 50% additional GST you have to pay on imported apples or kiwis bought from your fruit vendor. Given the high price, maybe you would want to switch to local bananas and oranges instead. Similarly, when the US imposes steep tariffs and buyers choose not to buy anymore, it impactsthe revenues and operations of exporters in, say, chemicals or auto components. If your employer is affected, so is your job. Radiation fallout everywhere Though India has won limited relief on farm exports after intense pushback, the overall picture is clear—the trade war isn't going away soon. Since April, when the US-driven tariff war started playing out, global growth has slowed down, and oil prices and dollar rates have fluctuated. Like radiation fallout after a nuclear strike, every business has been impacted by second-degree effects. When a US customer cancels or pauses an order because of uncertainty or tariff-driven costs, it's not just the exporter but also the Indian supplier, transporter, marketing agencies, financial teams, and even traditional IT services firms that feel the pinch. A Noida engineering firm recently froze recruitment on domestic projects after its US order book shrank by 30% practically overnight. In Gujarat, a mid-sized chemicals exporter shifted focus to low-margin domestic orders as part of survival tactics. Double trouble The tariff timing couldn't have been worse. While China continues to struggle with a real estate slump, the Eurozone has been hovering on the edge of recession since 2024. The US presidency change in 2025 rattled investors globally, and energy prices swung unpredictably from multiple war zones. All this has driven up India's import costs and fuelled inflationary pressure. What it means is that companies are being forced to become conservative, tighten their belts, and cut costs, often through automation. An apparel exporter from Tirupur, Tamil Nadu, recently replaced 40 manual stitching stations with automated units when hit by a combination of rising input costs and falling US orders. The grim reality is that these jobs won't be coming back. Some sink, some swim Not all sectors are equally bruised. Those grappling with rising costs and shrinking US demand include engineering goods, textiles, and chemicals. Reducing margins is forcing them to delay expansion. Other sectors, such as apparel and leather exporters, are offsetting losses by cautiously picking up new US orders from buyers diversifying away from China. However, they are not going aggressive on hiring. Meanwhile, traditional export sales jobs are reducing and are being replaced by compliance officers, localisation managers, and trade diversification specialists. Quiet winners In every disruption, new winners emerge. Here, the recovery is being led by the domestic market, with sectors focused on renewable energy, electric vehicles, healthcare, and fintech still attracting investments and skilled talent. Nearly 60% of private sector formal and informal jobs in India are in MSMEs. Here, too, smaller manufacturers are shifting focus to domestic markets and e-commerce platforms to keep their engines running. Crisis leads to innovation, and thus, new startups in supply chain technology, AI-driven manufacturing, and agri-processing are developing new solutions and expanding teams. A Pune-based SaaS (software as a service) startup recently signed three large exporters for its AI-powered cost-tracking tool. If you are a job seeker, these growth sectors require skills blending domain expertise, digital fluency, and market savvy. Rewriting playbooks Indian exporters aren't going down without a fight. They are aggressively diversifying by seeking new markets in ASEAN, the Middle East, and Africa. Meanwhile, the government-led Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes are pulling investments into domestic manufacturing and import substitution. All firms are targeting costs by sourcing closer to end markets and, thus, cutting down on shipping and customs. What this means is growth in roles around compliance, automation, and market intelligence. A Pune auto component manufacturer has redirected 20% of its export pipeline to Southeast Asia, with a new team in multilingual sales, regional regulatory knowledge, and trade finance skills. Your tariff survival kit You cannot control trade wars or uncertainty, but you can reduce your personal risk. First, understand and monitor your employer's business, export exposure, client geographies, and supply chain dependencies. Next, acquire automation-resistant skills, including AI, compliance, trade finance, and vendor management. Invest in professional relationships, especially in domestic growth sectors. Also, diversify your income through freelancing or entrepreneurship on the side. Policies that matter to you Know that India's domestic market is huge, and regional trade partnerships are expanding, and yet, these buffers aren't foolproof. Hence, on the external front, India is challenging tariffs at the WTO, negotiating sectoral relief with the US, and expanding engagement with ASEAN and Gulf states to unlock alternative markets. Internally, it is incentivising exporters and expanding PLI coverage to create domestic manufacturing jobs. Schemes like Make in India and Skill India will impact your sector's hiring outlook in the current challenging times. Thrive, not survive Tariffs and global uncertainty have become the new normal. If jobs of the future are to be defined by volatility, how will you build your career? Become a professional who is constantly learning new skills and growing professional relationships. When a statement in Washington impacts a small business in Surat, your job security depends on your adaptability. The right time to prepare? Yesterday. The second-best time? Today. The Author is FOUNDER, A JOB LOSS ASSURANCE COMPANY, AND AUTHOR OF GET HIRED IN 30 DAYS. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this column are that of the writer. The facts and opinions expressed here do not reflect the views of
Economic Times
25 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Sellers for now, FPIs may rethink Indian equities
In the current calendar year so far, they have invested about ₹38,814 core ($4.5 billion) in the primary market compared with ₹54,884 crore ( or $6.6 billion) in the first eight months of the previous year. FPIs intensified selling in Indian equities in early August due to US import duties, selling ₹20,974.9 crore worth of equities. Despite this outflow, a recent credit rating upgrade by S&P and potential GST reforms offer hope for improved investor sentiment. Domestic mutual funds have increased their investments to partially offset the FPI selling pressure. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads ET Intelligence Group: Foreign portfolio investors (FPI) increased selling intensity in Indian equities during the first fortnight of August compared with the previous month amid rising uncertainty over the country's global trade after the US imposed 25% import duty on Indian goods from August 7 with an extra penalty tariff of 25% slated to be effective on August the latest upgrade in India's credit rating by S&P to BBB from BBB- and a possibility of trade negotiations to avoid high tariffs may prompt FPIs to change stance on Indian equities in the coming weeks. Additionally, the proposed significant overhaul of slab rates under the goods and services tax (GST) Act is expected to reduce the inflationary pressure on consumers thereby supporting demand during the festive season from in turn, may lift sentiment among sold equities worth ₹20,974.9 crore ($2.4 billion) in the month as of August 14 compared with ₹17,740.6 crore ($2.1 billion) for the whole of July. They were net sellers for eight out of ten trading sessions so far in August. In 2025 so far, they have sold equities worth about ₹1.2 lakh crore ($13.3 billion). This compares with a net purchase of about ₹42,879 crore ($5.2 billion) in the first eight months of the primary market, which consists of investments in initial public offerings (IPOs) and qualified institutional placement (QIP), FPIs slowed their pace with a purchase of ₹2,579.2 crore ($294.1 million) in the first half of August 2025 compared with ₹4,908.6 crore ($573 million) bought in the corresponding period of the previous the current calendar year so far, they have invested about ₹38,814 core ($4.5 billion) in the primary market compared with ₹54,884 crore ( or $6.6 billion) in the first eight months of the previous year. Domestic mutual funds partially offset the impact of the FPI outflow by increasing their investment four times to ₹33,223 crore till August 11 compared with ₹Rs 8,310 crore invested in the corresponding period of July.
Scroll.in
25 minutes ago
- Scroll.in
In May crackdown on ‘foreigners', only Bengali-origin Muslims sent to Assam detention centre
On May 24, the Matia detention centre began to fill up as the Assam police launched a drive to round up alleged illegal immigrants in the state. Over the next few days, reports appeared of Bengali-origin Muslims held at the centre being taken to India's border with Bangladesh and being forced to cross over at gunpoint. Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told the Assembly that 303 'foreigners' had been pushed into Bangladesh. But he did not disclose their identities. Scroll filed a Right to Information query with the office of the Inspector-General of Prisons, Assam, asking for information on the number of detainees at the Matia centre, details of their cases, and when they were admitted inside. We also asked for detailed information on those who had been released, deported or 'pushed' into Bangladesh since April 2025. The Assam government's reply to our questions was incomplete. It did not share any information about those forced to cross the border into Bangladesh. However, it gave us a list of those detained at the Matia detention centre between May 27 and July 8. All 53 of them are Muslims. The RTI response Most of those rounded up in that crackdown were declared foreigners like the 51-year-old teacher from Morigaon, Khairul Islam, who was arrested and then forced out of Indian territory. Declared foreigners are typically long-term residents with families and properties in Assam, who have failed to prove that they are Indian citizens before the state's foreigners tribunals. Islam was forced out even though his case, challenging the foreigners tribunal order, was pending in the Supreme Court. Similarly, Shona Bhanu, a 59-year-old resident of Barpeta, was expelled from Indian territory. Both had told Scroll that they were first kept at the Matia camp before being taken to the no man's land between India and Bangladesh. However, the Assam government does not seem to have acknowledged these arrests, let alone their being expelled from India. The Assam prisons department informed Scroll that 53 declared foreigners were arrested and admitted in the camp on May 27, 28 and 29and July 8, all of them Muslims. However, the RTI reply has no record of Islam and Bhanu being admitted to the camp in May. Moreover, when Scroll put together an Assam government affidavit in the Supreme Court and the information from the RTI response, it became clear – in the last nearly 12 months, only Muslim declared foreigners have faced arrest and incarceration in Assam. The CAA model Foreigner tribunals are quasi-judicial bodies unique to Assam, which rule on citizenship cases. They have been accused of arbitrariness and bias, and declaring people foreigners on the basis of minor spelling mistakes, a lack of documents or lapses in memory. Many of the appeals to FT orders are pending in the higher courts. In the last five decades, Assam's foreigners tribunals have declared 1.6 lakh people as non-citizens, of whom 69,559 are Hindus. In recent years, several declared foreigners had been released from imprisonment after the Supreme Court and the Gauhati High Court ruled against their prolonged incarceration. But that changed in August 2024. The Assam government began a renewed crackdown on declared foreigners, who were arrested and sent to the Matia detention centre. By September 2024, the number of detained declared foreigners at Matia, the largest detention centre in India, had increased by four times to 72. However, all the newly arrested declared foreigners, who were sent to the detention centre in August, were Muslims, according to the Assam government affidavit filed before the Supreme Court on February 3 this year. The admission list at the Matia centre, which is maintained by the camp authorities and was seen by Scroll, also showed that only Muslim declared foreigners were admitted following the crackdown. As is evident from the RTI response from the Assam prisons headquarters, the May crackdown leading to 'pushbacks' followed the same pattern. The decision to spare Hindu declared foreigners is in line with the Assam government's implementation of the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act, which had triggered fierce protests from Assamese nationalists in 2019 . For instance, in July 2024, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party government asked the state's border police not to forward cases of non-Muslims who had entered India illegally before 2014 to foreigners tribunals. As Scroll had reported, this was a clear sign of the Assam government putting in place a citizenship regime that excludes Muslims. Last month, too, the Assam Government asked district authorities and members of the foreigners tribunals to drop cases against the members of six non-Muslim communities who are granted amnesty under CAA. While Assamese nationalists were opposed to all immigrants, whether Hindu or Muslim, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has raised the alarm against 'Muslim infiltration'. 'In Assam, we are fearlessly resisting the ongoing, unchecked Muslim infiltration from across the border, which has already caused an alarming demographic shift. In several districts, Hindus are now on the verge of becoming a minority in their own land.' No Rohingyas In May, Scroll had reported that all the Rohingya detainees had been expelled from the detention centre even though their cases were pending in the courts. The Assam prison headquarters' reply confirms that there are no Rohingya inmates at Matia. As of July 23, of the 110 inmates at Matia, three are 'convicted foreigners', 80 declared foreigners and 27 Chin refugees. But on April 24 this year, there were 103 Rohingya refugees – 37 of them children – at the Matia camp, according to the lists maintained by the detention centre, which were accessed by Scroll. The department said there is 'no record available pertaining' to whether the refugees were deported or pushed across into Bangladesh. Scroll had reported that they were expelled from the detention centre without following due process. Sarma had announced that several inmates of the Matia detention centre in Assam, including Rohingya refugees, were 'pushed back' into Bangladesh as part of a countrywide 'operation' by the Indian government.
